Standoff between AB, Marshall ‘disappointing’
Akira Ioane and Justin Marshall have apparently cleared up their differences.
That’s according to All Blacks coach Ian Foster, who said he’d addressed loose forward Ioane in the aftermath of his latenight standoff with Marshall.
Ioane and former All Black turned commentator Marshall were videoed mouthing off at each other in Wellington on Saturday night, after the All Blacks’ turgid performance against Ireland in the series deciding test lsat Saturday night.
In the video, a fired-up Ioane is seen being blocked by a number of other teammates, while All Black Caleb Clarke stood in the way of Marshall.
‘‘Look, the reality is it’s disappointing. But two people were mouthing off a little bit at each other. I wish that hadn’t happened, ‘‘Foster said on Friday, shortly after it was confirmed he would keep his job after the historic series defeat to the Irish.
‘‘Yes, I’ve talked to both people involved, and I know they’ve had a conversation with each other, and there are no issues going forward.’’
After the footage surfaced, New Zealand Rugby confirmed it was aware of the incident, stating ‘‘behaving responsibly is one of the core values in our team environment’’.
Ioane, who scored a try in the 32-22 defeat last weekend, has been retained in the All Blacks’ Rugby Championship squad.
Having named just two new faces – prop Ethan de Groot and loose forward Shannon Frizell – in the 36-man group, Foster also had a message for the person behind the camera.
‘‘I’m also not overly impressed that people think that they should film that stuff and spread it. Because two people arguing in a pub, I don’t think is as big of an issue as people make it out to be.’’